Z.T. Nguyễn’s drawing practice considers the conceptual significance of potentiality—that is, the space located between stasis and change. Often set in the nighttime, their works offer moments of tension, contemplation, and longing, while also channeling fantasy and folklore. Nguyễn is interested in the role of potentiality in unpacking and understanding histories of refugeeism and migration, political upheaval, and sexuality. Their works call on atmospheres of domesticity, queer intimacy, and fragility, emphasized by the delicate, unadorned hangs on simple archival tabs. Lightly creased and constructed from 8.5 x11” sheets of paper for ease of transport, Nguyễn’s works are meant to be folded, packed, and carried: a further meditation on the immigrant experience, and the crossing of various physical and emotional thresholds.



EDUCATION

2023-25
MFA Student (Painting & Printmaking), Yale School of Art

2019
BFA (Painting), Rhode Island School of Design

2016
Brown University



SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024
Contain and Mend, Untitled Art Miami Beach, “Special Projects" booth presentation with Transmitter - Miami Beach, FL

Upward Spiral
, Green Hall Gallery, Yale School of Art - New Haven, CT

Cẩm nang sử dụng: Cuộc đời
, Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA) - Hà Nội, Việt Nam

Means of Production, Shisanwu LLC & Sheerly Touch-Ya Warehouse - Glendale, NY


2023

why do i always fall out of bed at night?, Green Hall Gallery, Yale School of Art - New Haven, CT

The I Has to Travel, Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery - New York, NY

(Im)material Ruins, Asia Art Archive in America (AAA-A) - Brooklyn, NY


2021
Speeding Up, Slowing Down, Kunstraum LLC - Brooklyn, NY

Another’s Table, Textile Arts Center (online)


2020
Word, Image, Object, Action, Transmitter - Brooklyn, NY

Subtle Speaks, Textile Arts Center - Brooklyn, NY


2019
Smear Frames, Design Center, RISD - Providence, RI

2018
In the Mood for Love, RISD Museum - Providence, RI

You’re Invited: Sleepover, RISD Museum - Providence, RI


2017
-isms, Design Center, RISD, Providence - RI



SELECTED FELLOWSHIPS, RESIDENCIES, & AWARDS

2022
Leadership Camp: (Im)material Ruins, Asia Art Archive in America (AAA-A) - Brooklyn, NY

2021
Southeast Asian Artist Fellowship (online)
, The Alternative Art School (TAAS) & MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum

City Artist Corp Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)


2020
Alliance for Young Artists & Writers Alumni Microgrant

2019
Artist in Residence, Textile Arts Center - Brooklyn, NY (2019-20)

Becky Westcott Memorial Painting Award, RISD Painting Department


2018
RISD Parents Council Fine Arts Internship Award

Summer Fellowship, Anderson Ranch Arts Center - Snowmass Village, CO




SELECTED PRESS

2024
VCCA giới thiệu triển lãm 'Cẩm nang sử dụng: Cuộc đời (Tiền Phong)